No. 134 arrives by freighter in Boston; STM collection.
Operating History: This car was constructed by Nippon Sharyo (Japan Rolling Stock) Co. for the city of Osaka in 1911. It used a Brill truck and G.E. motors imported from the U. S. About 1929, it moved to Fukuoka where it served as car 33. In 1953, it was transferred to Nagasaki as part of the rebuilding program following the atomic bomb attack. The Nagasaki Electric Tramway had begun operation in 1915, and it remains a privately-owned, profitable electric tram system. In Nagasaki, the car was numbered 134 and served until 1960. No. 134’s deck roof was extended to a railroad roof using packing crate wood, probably during the Nagasaki city reconstruction.
Museum Ownership: In 1960, the Nagasaki Electric Tramway Co. donated No. 134 to Seashore. Even though the U.S. had obliterated his city 15 years before, the President of the Nagasaki Electric Tramway wrote an unusually friendly donation letter to Seashore:
“It is a pleasure for me and my company to present to you free of charge our streetcar #134. The streetcar concerned must be happy to join her friends from all over the world in your museum…I hope personally and in behalf of all the employees who have loved her that she will be happy and well forever under your kind and thoughtful care.”
The donation coincided with the Japan-US Centennial commemorating the first Treaty of Trade and Amity and the start of diplomatic relations between Japan and the US in 1860. The centennial celebration committee helped arrange shipment of No. 134 to the U.S., and the Japanese Foreign Ministry paid part of the shipping cost. The Japanese Consul General at New York presented the car to Seashore at a ceremony in Kennebunkport on June 25, 1960. Since acquiring No. 134, Seashore has replaced the original bow collector with a trolley pole and repainted the car several times. The car has operated at various times.
Current Condition: No.134 is currently undergoing a full restoration with the hope that the tram will operate again for the general public soon.
No. 134 at Seashore Trolley Museum; STM collection.
No. 134 is currently undergoing a full restoration of the car. Significant progress on the body work was completed in August 2019; STM collection.
 |
 |
 |